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Friday, March 14, 2014

Happy Pi Day!!!! Berry and Apple Sharlotka

For Pi day, I did not make a pie. I'm contrary like that. Instead, I was inspired by Deb Perelman* over at Smitten Kitchen. She has a recipe for an Apple Sharlotka that looked delicious and like it would use up the past-their-prime grannie smith apples I had laying around.

*You're going to hear a lot about Deb, she's one of my favorite food bloggers

Of course, her recipe calls for 6 apples and after a little reconnaissance, I only had 5 apples that were fit for eating (one of them was on the cusp). So, I decided to make a Berry and Apple Sharlotka.

Preheat the oven. Put the parchment in the bottom of the spring form pan, then grease it and the sides really well (mine stuck a little). Then peel, core and dice up your apples and throw them right into the greased pan. When you're done, mix in your berries, straight from the freezer.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together. Deb says: "Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs
with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten
eggs." I just beat mine with whisk until it started to thicken and my arm got tired. True story. Add your vanilla and cinnamon, then using a spoon or a rubber spatula incorporate the flour into the batter, trying not to over-mix it.

Pour the batter over the apples/berries in the pan and then using your spoon or spatula, get the batter worked down into the fruit.

Pop it into the oven for about 55 minutes. Then bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This recipe is a little deceiving, because the fruit keeps things quite moist in there, so just remember it's not a cake. It's almost got a custard-y consistency on the inside. Let it cool for a few minutes then pop it out of the pan. Finish with powdered sugar (but only once you're ready to serve, because I did mine early and it just melted into the cake).